What to go for next?!

After reading this forum for around 6 months I have finally registered and this will be my first post.

So lets get down to business, im a 24 year old guy playing 4.0 level tennis in the UK. I have only been playing 6 months and play most of my tennis indoors on carpet for around 8-10 hours per week. I am very athletic and hit the ball hard with allot of top spin and have a long swing.

My skills on the court are increasing week by week at the moment. I have regular lessons with a respected coach and feel that if I keep up the rate of improvement I can start playing in tournaments come the summer.

The problem is that I have been struggling with strings. I currently play with 2 Head Speed Pro rackets and am now re-stringing them for the 5th time and no longer know what to try. This is how things have gone so far;-

String 1: A Babolat multi @55 came in the rackets when purchased. Played ok but started to degrade quickly and the strings where very warn after 3 weeks.

String 2: Babolat Syth gut cross Tecnifibre Red Code Polly mains @55. Played nice and seemed to hold tension. This set up lasted a while until the Syth Gut broke, so got another restring in this. But after around 3 months (4 restrings) of playing this I developed a mild case of golfers elbow which i put down to the Polly in the mains.

String 4: Head natural gut mains @55 Alu Rough crosses @50. I was advised that natural gut would be a bit more arm friendly but expensive (hence the hybrid) and sure enough it played very nicely but only got around '4 HOURS' out of each racket before I have breaking them. And at £25 a restring having 2-3 a week is rather expensive.

So am looking for advice on a relatively durable (not expecting miracles) main string that isn't a Polly that i can use with the Alu rough cross. As can be seen from the above i have very little experience with strings and the stringer i use isn't the best when it comes to product knowledge so any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You don't string your own racquets, I take it? There will be a long line of people willing to give you string advice (usually about their favorite sting - not what will help you necessarily lol), but my suggestion would be to invest in a stringer first and foremost if you haven't already.

Even without buying your own machine, you can drop the cost of the gut mains/ poly cross combo significantly by using middle-tier gut and a different cross.

Personally, I prefer Pacific Classic, but Klip Legend is an acceptable replacement. If you find yourself breaking the gut soon, try a thicker gauge (not sure what you used in Head).

As far as a poly cross, there are many, many to choose from, but I would start with something like Signum Pro Poly Plasma (aka SPPP), Weiss CANNON Silverstring, Topspin CyberFlash/CyberBlue/Concept Pure or Tourna Big Hitter Blue.

In many of those cases, buying it by the reel will cut the cost 25-50%, but I'd buy a pack first just to see if you like it.

Currently I use MSV Co. Focus as a cross, but may be trying something different after this reel is finished.

Alu doesn't hold tension for crap. Dunlop Ice is cheap, holds tension, and plays almost exactly like alu rough. Fuji has a good set up of ICE and Gosen OG. In his sig it says "testing tensions" but I believe he said 53 lbs in one of his posts.

Well Co-focus. Softest poly ive used and price for performance is insane. Good string. Just use it as a cross with pacific tough gut. People are apparently getting 30 even 40 hours of consistent play out of the bed.

Well Co-focus. Softest poly ive used and price for performance is insane. Good string. Just use it as a cross with pacific tough gut. People are apparently getting 30 even 40 hours of consistent play out of the bed.

Click to expand...

I think I would break the strings... FAST!!!.... In other words, 12gauge kevlar would last 40 hours.

Even without buying your own machine, you can drop the cost of the gut mains/ poly cross combo significantly by using middle-tier gut and a different cross.

Personally, I prefer Pacific Classic, but Klip Legend is an acceptable replacement. If you find yourself breaking the gut soon, try a thicker gauge (not sure what you used in Head).

As far as a poly cross, there are many, many to choose from, but I would start with something like Signum Pro Poly Plasma (aka SPPP), Weiss CANNON Silverstring, Topspin CyberFlash/CyberBlue/Concept Pure or Tourna Big Hitter Blue.

In many of those cases, buying it by the reel will cut the cost 25-50%, but I'd buy a pack first just to see if you like it.

Currently I use MSV Co. Focus as a cross, but may be trying something different after this reel is finished.

Click to expand...

In the interim, that's a very true statement, but he's an ardent player, and he's young. If you compare what he'd save by purchasing something comparable to a Klippermate (not sure you can get Klippers in the UK) and stringing his own racquets to his savings based on the advice you gave him (which I have no objections to, mind you) over the next three to four years...well, there's really no comparison; the difference would be huge. On top of that, I'm not sure how far he travels to take his racquets to the person who strings them, but gas money factors into his current expenses as well, which will mean even more savings if he's stringing for himself.

MTS_88, consider McLovin's advice, as well as any others you feel make sense to you, but also consider purchasing your own stringer for a permanent solution to your dilemma. Stringing is easier than you probably think, and if you're like most, you'll be very glad you did.

COPEY, I agree that buying a quality stringing machine would be the best solution (I've had one since college, which is over 20 years now), but was just offering a quick alternative to his problem.

In addition to the savings from owning your own machine, once proficient, you can also string for friends for a slight fee. Granted, you aren't going to retire on the added income, but it does help offset the cost of 'tinkering', which many of us here seem to do.

COPEY, I agree that buying a quality stringing machine would be the best solution (I've had one since college, which is over 20 years now), but was just offering a quick alternative to his problem.

In addition to the savings from owning your own machine, once proficient, you can also string for friends for a slight fee. Granted, you aren't going to retire on the added income, but it does help offset the cost of 'tinkering', which many of us here seem to do.

Yes, the non-electronic machines are fine. Drop-weight floating clamp machines like the Gamma X-2 / Progression 200 or Klippermate get the job done, as do drop-weights with fixed clamps, and crank machines with fixed clamps. I used an X-2 for a few years, but later purchased a used crank/fixed clamp machine for ease of use. Just don't buy a cheap electronic machine.

On a general note i think that buying a string machine could solve a number of issues. Are the traditional (non electronic) machines any good??

Click to expand...

In addition to what mmk said, you can later upgrade many of the table top machine to electric later. The Wise tension head is a nice option that won't tie you to a specific brand of machine.

However, I would recommend staying away from the knock off brands (e.g., Eagnas) in general. People here have had mixed results with the product, but I believe most, if not all, have encountered problems w/ customer service. Best to stay with Alpha/Gamma/Klippermate for your first.

In addition to what mmk said, you can later upgrade many of the table top machine to electric later. The Wise tension head is a nice option that won't tie you to a specific brand of machine.

However, I would recommend staying away from the knock off brands (e.g., Eagnas) in general. People here have had mixed results with the product, but I believe most, if not all, have encountered problems w/ customer service. Best to stay with Alpha/Gamma/Klippermate for your first.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice, i will bear it in mind over the next few months as will start to look for a stringer on a certain auction site.

1. You may be able to use poly mains if you drop the tension. I had elbow and wrist issue with poly but now I stay in the 48-52 lb range without any issue. Technifibre and SigPro polys play best the longest but you still are looking at 10-15 hours of quality play followed by 5-10 hours of OK for practice play. I would hybrid with a syn gut at +4 lbs in the cross - example: poly mains 48 with syn gut cross at 52. Syn Guts: Gosen, Pro Supex Spiral Flex, Volkl syn gut, Klip Kicker are good.

2. If you still get elbow pain with lower tension poly, a soft multi might be good. Tecnifibre NRG2 16G is a fairly durable multi for me. Go up a bit in tension - say 55-58 range.

3. Or, go with the least expensive solution and restring more often. Any decent syn gut.

4. McL suggested a cheaper gut like Pac Classic with a poly cross - yonex poly tour is an option or any TF or SigPro poly. This will still be expensive but a high quality comfortable string bed. For your elbow, maybe gut mains at 54 with poly cross at 50. I get about 15-20 hours of quality play out of this type of setup before the gut looks like it is about to pop - frayed and notched.

3. Or, go with the least expensive solution and restring more often. Any decent syn gut.

Click to expand...

I'm liking this idea, too. I string my own gear and think that getting a machine is a smart option down the road, too. As for right now though, it looks like you've gone from the soft end of the string spectrum right over to the firm end. There may be a lot of bang for your buck right in the middle of the string realm in the form of a decent synthetic gut.

Some options, including Prince Original Syn. Gut (not the Duraflex versions) and Gosen OG Micro, might give you the price tag, performance, and softness you're looking for right now. Syn. gut is typically very inexpensive, at least before paying someone else to install it in your racquet, but I like how its performance can hold up for me right until it's ready to break. Multi's usually get too soft for me after a few outings, but 16 ga. syn. gut has "soft enough" to be plenty cozy on my elbow.